Armor is a critical element of the game, providing resistance fighters with increased Hit Points, additional utility slots, and eventually armor that reduces the magnitude of incoming damage.
All soldiers begin with a set of basic Kevlar Armor, which confers no benefits beyond allowing a single Utility Item to be equipped.
Further upgrades require Plated or Powered Armor Technologies. Each must then be manufactured individually by completing the required Proving Ground project, with the exception of Predator, Warden and SPARK armors, which are Squad upgrades built directly at Engineering.
Armor stats[]
Health
- Main article: Hit Points (XCOM 2)
All armor classes increase a soldier's Health value significantly, while only select models increase the Armor value. This distinction is notable to the effect that armors primarily increase a soldier's Health pool, and not their Armor value.
Armor points
- Main article: Armor Points (XCOM 2)
Armor points is a concept separate from Health and wearable armors, and represents a soldier's damage reduction capability.
XCOM Armor[]
Light Armor[]
Light Armor grants the wearer extra mobility and dodge, focusing less on Health and more on the movement flexibility of the wearer. All Light Armor shares the ability to deploy a Grappling Hook to reach elevated surfaces, and in extreme cases will allow the user to pass through solid objects with Wraith.
Medium Armor[]
Medium armor is general-purpose armor which balances mobility with protection, allowing for an additional Utility Item to be equipped, while Icarus Armor* is able to quickly shift positions and vault over objects and walls.
Heavy Armor[]
Heavy Armor focuses on the survivability of the wearer, increasing both Health and Armor points, and each possesses the ability to mount a single Heavy Weapon.
| XCOM Armor | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor | Armor class | Hit Points | Armor Points | Mobility | Dodge | Utility Item slots | Heavy Weapon slot | Abilities, properties | DLC | Research requirement | Quantity |
| Kevlar Armor | Basic | 1 | ∞ | ||||||||
| Spider Suit | Light | +4 | +1 | +20 | 1 | Grapple | Spider Suit Project | 1 per project | |||
| Wraith Suit | +6 | +2 | +25 | Grapple, Wraith | Wraith Suit Project | 1 per project | |||||
| Serpent Suit | +5 | +1 | +35 | Grapple, Frostbite, Panic Vipers | Alien Hunters | Viper King Autopsy | 1 | ||||
| Serpent Armor | +7 | +2 | +40 | Powered Armor | 1 (replaces the Serpent Suit) | ||||||
| Predator Armor | Medium | +4 | 2 | Plated Armor | ∞ | ||||||
| Warden Armor | +6 | +1 | Powered Armor | ∞ | |||||||
| Icarus Armor | +7 | +1 | +1 | Vault, Icarus Jump, Panic Archons | Alien Hunters | Archon King Autopsy | 1 | ||||
| E.X.O. Suit | Heavy | +5 | +1 | 1 | + | E.X.O. Suit Project | 1 per project | ||||
| W.A.R. Suit | +6 | +2 | Shieldwall | W.A.R. Suit Project | 1 per project | ||||||
| R.A.G.E. Suit | +6 | +1 | +1 | Rage Strike, Panic Mutons and Berserkers | Alien Hunters | Berserker Queen Autopsy | 1 | ||||
| R.A.G.E. Armor | +7 | +2 | +1 | Powered Armor | 1 (replaces the R.A.G.E. Suit) | ||||||
- Grenadier ability Blast Padding provides +1 Armor Point and reduces Explosion damage by 66%.
Vests[]
| Vests | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vest | Hit Points | Armor Points | Effect | Requirement | |
 |
+1 | Hybrid Materials | |||
 |
+2 | Deals 2-4 damage to enemy melee attackers and also inflicts  Burning if they aren't immune to fire.
|
Chryssalid Autopsy | ||
| Plated Vest | +2 | +1 | Experimental Armor | ||
 |
+2 | Grants Immunity to Burning,  Acid Burn and  Poisoned status effects.
| |||
 |
+2 | Regenerate 2 HP per turn (up to 8 HP per Mission). | |||
- Only one Vest can be equipped onto a soldier at a time.
- The Reinforced Underlay upgrade provides an additional +1 HP to all Vests.
Resistance Armor[]
Reapers, Skirmishers, and Templars each have their own faction-specific set of armor, which share characteristics with Kevlar, Predator, and Warden armor minus a few Utility Item slots. They are only available in the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen expansion.
| Resistance Armor | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Health | Armor | Mobility | Dodge | Utility Slots | ||
| Reapers | Skirmishers, Templars | ||||||
| Resistance Armor | 0* | 1* | |||||
| Plated Resistance Armor | +4 | ||||||
| Powered Resistance Armor | +6 | +1 | |||||
- * Tactical Rigging ability, randomly available to Reapers and Skirmishers as an XCOM skill (costs 11 Ability Points), provides +1 additional Utility Item slot.
- Skirmishers have Grapple ability by default.
SPARK Armor[]
SPARK Armor is exclusive to Shen's Last Gift DLC, and can only be equipped on SPARK units. It does not confer any particular attributes or abilities, but each iteration will grant additional Health, mobility, and an extra point of Armor.
| SPARK Armor | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Health | Armor | Mobility | Dodge | Utility Slots | |
| SPARK Armor | n/a | |||||
| Reinforced Frame | +3 | +1 | +1 | |||
| Annodized Chassis | +5 | +2 | +2 | |||
- SPARK ability Bulwark provides +1 armor.
- SPARK ability Sacrifice provides +2 armor and +20 defense every 3 turns.
Trivia[]
Legacy Armor[]
Resistance Warrior Kevlar Armor, Improvised Field Armor, Enhanced Field Plate, and Experimental Power Armor are alternate appearances for standard armor that share identical characteristics; they are included in the Resistance Warrior Pack and Tactical Legacy Pack.
